4 kilos of cocaine seized in I-95 traffic stop

The Nash County Sheriff's Office Highway Interdiction Team seized four kilos of cocaine Friday during a traffic stop on Interstate 95.

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Posted
Friday, August 17, 2018 10:10 pm

Alvarez

Lopez

By Olivia Neeley

olivia@wilsontimes.com252-265-7879

ROCKY MOUNT — Two men face drug trafficking charges after authorities discovered 4 kilos of cocaine stuffed inside a duffel bag following a traffic stop on Interstate 95. On Friday, the Nash County Sheriff’s Office Highway Interdiction Team stopped a Toyota Camry as a result of a traffic violation on I-95 southbound at mile marker 148. Officials said during the stop, “reasonable suspicion of criminal activity was present.”

Deputies deployed a K-9 who detected narcotics inside the car, Nash County officials said. During the search, officials discovered 4 kilograms — or about 8.8 pounds — inside a duffel bag in the trunk of the car, deputies said.

The driver, Jerime Jessette Cordero Alvarez, 29, of Kissimmee, Florida, and passenger, Edwin Joel Rodriguez Lopez, 29, of Syracuse, New York, were arrested. Both are charged with trafficking cocaine by possession, trafficking cocaine by transportation, felony possession of cocaine and maintaining a vehicle for the purposes of selling and delivering a controlled substance.

Officials said the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is also investigating the case.

SECOND TRAFFIC STOP

Earlier this week, Nash County conducted another traffic stop on I-95,

“During the stop, members of the NCSO believed that criminal activity was afoot based on several indicators and roadside interviews,” Nash County Capt. Eddie Moore said in a news release. He said a vehicle search revealed a large sum of cash.

“Based on the criminal indicators, the criminal histories of both occupants of the vehicles and the fact that they disclaimed any knowledge of the currency, it was seized and turned over to the DEA for further follow-up investigation,” he said.

Moore said neither of those men were charged at that time and were released.

“We don’t believe either of these traffic stops to be directly related to the other, but just shows that drug trafficking is a thriving and well-orchestrated business,” Moore said.

He said the sheriff’s office Highway Interdiction Team has been successful not only this week, but in the past few months, in doing its part to put a “dent in the drug trafficking that travels into and through Nash County on a daily basis.”